Logo: University of Southern California

Dr. Luhar on Advisory Board of the STEM Academy of Hollywood

Professor Mitul Luhar of USC Viterbi will bring STEM Academy of Hollywood's students into his research laboratory to teach key principles of aerospace engineering.
By: Katie Mills
September 30, 2015 —
 
It’s an exciting moment when a high school student suddenly sees and understands physics at work in a real life, practical situation. This is what Professor Mitul Luhar of USC Viterbi’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering will be offering to students at the STEM Academy of Hollywood. He’ll be pairing up with 11th grade engineering teacher, Katherine Simon, to teach key principles of aerospace engineering by bringing students into his research laboratory at USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Shown here at the STEM Academy of Hollywood, Dr. Luhar (R) and retired aerospace engineer Julian Lewis (L) are both on the school’s Advisory Board, created by Principal Paul Hirsch (an alumnus of USC Rossier School of Education) to bring together industry professionals committed to advancing STEM education.

Dr. Luhar is partnering with Ms. Simon to engage the 11th grade engineering class in his research in fluid mechanics and flow-structure interaction. He will show them in the experimental water channel how differently shaped objects affect the flow speed and turbulence, and how the flow patterns influence important engineering quantities such as lift and drag. Students will be able to perform hands-on dye injection tests to chart flow, design objects to minimize drag, and test 3D-printed versions of their designs in the water channel. Dr. Luhar’s research addresses problems in aero- and hydrodynamic engineering design, environmental science as well as physical biology, and involves a combination of laboratory experiments and theory.

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Measurements of water flow.
The water channel where Dr. Luhar conducts research.

This partnership was facilitiated by VAST (Viterbi Adopt-a-School, Adopt-a-Teacher), which connects USC Viterbi faculty with K-12 schools that want to immerse their students in STEM and introduce them to engineering research. To learn morea about upcoming VAST events, please add yourself to the VAST mailing list by clicking here.

Here is an article about the STEM Academy of Hollywood.